RADNOR — After five games, including four consecutive wins, Villanova coach Andy Talley still wasn’t sure what to think about his football team.

Were the Wildcats for real or just a team that has benefitted from a favorable schedule?

He received his answer Saturday night. The Wildcats aren’t quite ready to be considered one of the elite teams in the CAA just yet. They may be down the road, but not at the moment.

Elite teams do not allow a blocked punt on the opening possession of the game as the Wildcats (4-2 overall, 2-1 CAA) did in a 28-17 loss to Richmond at Villanova Stadium.

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The top tier teams do not turn the ball over four times or get hit with four critical penalties, as Villanova did against the Spiders.

“I’m not sure if we’re ready for prime time,” Talley said. “We’re almost there, but we’re not quite there yet.”

That was evident in the amount of mistakes the Wildcats (4-2 overall, 2-1 CAA) made against the Spiders (4-2, 2-1). It was one after another and began early.

Richmond set the tone early as Rodney Barnes blew in and blocked a punt attempt by Mark Hamilton on the first possession of the game. Six plays later, Kendall Gaskins bulled in from a yard out for a 7-0 Richmond lead.

Even though Villanova would fight back for a 14-14 halftime tie, it was a prelude of things to come. Quarterback John Robertson amassed a career-high 425 yards of total offense (308 passing, 117 rushing), but had a hand in all four turnovers. He threw three interceptions and also lost a fumble.

“That all starts with me,” Robertson said. “I didn’t get my protection down right and I have to do a better job of recognizing coverages, but this is going to be a learning experience.”

The Wildcats learned it only takes a few mistakes to bring a four-game winning streak to an end, and Villanova had more than its share of miscues Saturday night.

Robertson had a pass batted at the line of scrimmage and was intercepted by Richmond’s Darius McMillian at the Spiders’ 18-yard line with 35 seconds left in the first half.

A clipping call on Gary Underwood, followed by a delay of game penalty against Robertson forced Villanova to punt. Richmond drove 68 yards in nine plays for the go-ahead touchdown. On the ensuing possession, Robertson was stripped of the football at the Richmond 13 to kill another potential scoring drive. The mishits kept coming.

A false start on third-and-goal from the one-yard line forced the Wildcats to settle for a Mark Hamilton field goal. Richmond’s Darrly Hamilton stepped in front of a Robertson pass for his second interception of the game with 3:14 to play to end the suspense. Laub scored on fourth-and-one to ice it. Villanova couldn’t even get a break on the extra point. The Wildcats’ blocked Remington Hinshaw’s point-after kick, only to get hit with a running into the kicker penalty. Hinshaw didn’t miss the second time around and the Spiders were back on the way to Virginia with an 11-point victory firmly secured.

“We could have won this game,” Talley said. “And it would have been a nice steal for us.”